Richard Lynn*
Department of Geography, National Technical University, Athens City, Greece
Received: 04-Mar-2022, Manuscript No. JSS-22-56386; Editor assigned: 08- Mar-2022, Pre QC No. JSS -22-56386(PQ); Reviewed: 22- Mar-2022, QC No. JSS -22-56386; Accepted: 25-Mar-2022, Manuscript No. JSSS -22-56386(A); Published: 1-Apr-2022, DOI: 10.4172/ J Social Sciences.8.3.e001.
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Demography is the statistical study of populations, particularly human populations. Based on criteria such as education, nationality, religion, and ethnicity, demographic analysis can be applied to entire civilizations or groupings. Although there are a few autonomous demography departments, most educational institutions regard demography as a field of sociology. Demography encompasses a wide range of topics. Is it a micro or macro study? It contains the subject matter of demography. Is it a scientific or artistic endeavor there is no agreement among demographers on these vexing problems about the scope of demography?
Scope of demography
Practical aspects: The numerous ways of gauging population changes, such as census methodologies, age pyramids, population predictions, and so on, are all practical aspects of population research.
Population policy: Population policy is a crucial topic in demography, particularly in developing countries. It covers population control policies and family planning tactics, as well as reproductive health, maternal nutrition, and child health policies, policies for human development of various social groups, and the effects of these policies on the country's overall population [1].
Micro study: Micro demography is a specific approach to population studies. The focus on the fertility, mortality, distribution, migration, and other characteristics of a single person, a family, or a group of people in a certain city, area, or community, among other things. "The study of population growth, distribution, and redistribution within a community, state, economic area, or other local area are known as micro demography". Demography is primarily concerned with quantitative correlations between demographic dynamics from a micro perspective [2].
Macro study: The minority of authors uses a macro strategy to population studies and integrates qualitative aspects of demography in their work. Demography, they claim, involves the interrelationships between population and social, economic, and cultural elements in a country, as well as their impact on population growth. It looks at the size, composition, and dispersion of populations, as well as long-term trends. What are the reasons for migration and what are the consequences? What variables influence urbanization, and what are the ramifications? All of these are part of the macro aspects of population studies, which include, among other things, unemployment, poverty, and related policies, population management and family welfare, and population, migration, and urbanization theories [3,4].
Demography as a science: Before determining whether demography is a science, it is necessary to understand what science is and how science's qualities apply to demography. A science is a systematized body of knowledge that can be verified by experiments and observation. It is a collection of generalizations, ideas, hypotheses, or rules that establishes a cause-and-effect relationship.
Importance of demography
For the economy: The value of demography to a country's economy cannot be overstated. We can use population studies to see how closely the economy's growth rate matches the population's growth pace. The economy will grow at a slower rate if the population expands at a faster rate [5,6]. The government can take the necessary steps to reduce population increase while also accelerating up economic growth. Rapid population growth lowers per capita income, lowers living standards, plunges the economy into mass unemployment and underemployment, harms the environment, and puts current social infrastructure under strain. Economic difficulties that need to be handled by the government are highlighted by population studies.
For society: It is impossible to overestimate the relevance of population studies in society. When a society's population grows rapidly, it faces a plethora of problems. Water, power, transportation, and communications, as well as public health and education, are all impacted. In addition, issues of migration and urbanisation are connected to population growth, leading to an increase in law and order concerns. When faced with challenges arising as a result of population expansion, the government and non-governmental social organisations may take appropriate measures to resolve them [7].
For administrators: Managers in charge of government operations can also benefit from population research. Almost all social and economic problems in developing countries can be traced back to population growth. The government must deal with and handle the problems that develop as a result of population growth. Shanties, pollution, drainage, water, power, transit, and other challenges in cities are the outcome of migration and urbanisation. Social cleansing, better housing, and efficient transportation system, clean water supply, improved sewerage systems, control of communicable illnesses, and provision of medical and health services, notably in maternal and child welfare, are all needed [8,9].
For political system: Demographic data is critical to the proper operation of a democratic political system. A country's election commission demarcates constituencies based on census data from various locations. The number of voters is raised after each election to see how many people have moved in from different regions of the country [10]. Political parties can use census data to determine the number of male and female voters, their level of education, their age structure, their earnings, and other statistics. In their election manifestos, political parties can use these ideas to raise difficulties and provide solutions.
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